The mounting of an electronic equipment item on an aeronautical instrument panel is represented schematically in FIG. 1. The rear part of the equipment item 1 comprises a first male connector 10. The instrument panel 2 comprises an opening 20. At the rear of this opening 20, the instrument panel comprises a fixed rack or “seat” 3 comprising a first female connector 30, complementing the first male connector 10. These connectors generally comprise several dozen contacts and, consequently, installing them involves both great accuracy and a certain insertion force. The instrument panel also comprises mechanical translational guiding means making it possible to correctly pre-position the equipment item 1 when it is to be fixed to the instrument panel 2. These means are not represented in FIG. 1. Once positioned on the instrument panel, the equipment item is generally locked by means of a fixing handle which ensures both the mechanical fixing of the equipment item 1 and the securing of the electrical contact between the two connectors 10 and 30.
Currently, there are various mechanical and electrical connection systems that make it possible to ensure this equipment mounting in safe electrical and mechanical conditions and conditions to withstand the environments required for the aeronautical equipment items. These systems also meet specific requirements of instrument panel mounting notably regarding ease and speed of mounting.
For a certain number of applications, notably when the equipment item is a display device comprising a removable touch surface, it is necessary for the equipment item to comprise a second male connector independent of the first connector. This second connector, for sitting reasons, is not necessarily either close to or situated in the same plane as the first connector. Consequently, it is very difficult to impose positioning and mounting tolerances such that they allow for the simultaneous mounting of the first connector and of the second connector.
One possible solution for mounting this second connector is represented in FIG. 2. It consists in mounting the male part 11 of the second connector on the rear part of the equipment item 1 and in mounting the female part 31 on a strand 41 that is elastic or mounted, for example, on a winder so as to be able to extract the female part 31 from the seat 3. The connecting of the connectors 11 and 31 is then done, outside the seat, before the equipment item 1 is mounted in said seat 3.
This solution has a number of drawbacks. The mounting of the connector 31 on the strand 41 is not necessarily simple given the weight of the strand and the pulling forces exerted on the connector 31 at the time of connection. Since the mounting of the equipment item is done blind, it is impossible to know whether the strand 41 is positioned correctly at the rear of the equipment item when the equipment item is mounted on the panel 2. Moreover, if precautions are not taken, the second connector set risks being damaged on extraction of the equipment item. Finally, this solution is relatively costly and the mounting of the second connector results in a significantly longer equipment mounting time.